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Dwarven City of Marag Dun

Hey all,
First time poster, long time lurker

I've done a handful of maps over the years, though until this year most work was done through Dunjinni (though I since lost the license key and they're apparently gone - anyway), relying on pre-fab textures, images, etc. I've since done some work in gimp to do some regional maps that I'm pretty content with. This map is my first attempt at a city map.

This is probably the most "off the rails" map I've done since employing Gimp; I'm using assorted layer tricks I've learned doing regional maps and overall I'm pretty happy with the results. But here's where it get's tricky. In the game I'm running, the town is soon to get sacked - literally a giant undead tree is going to sprout out of the depths of the earth and spew forth all sorts of nasties.

To really drive home the point of the scale of the damage, I want to have a "before" and "after" map. I'm cool with my before map as is (though happy for advice anyway!), but what I'm struggling with is making the "invading" tree look a) tree-like, b) like it's busting out of the ground, and c) like it belongs on the map rather than tacked on.

(I was going to attach the xcf, but it's clocking in at 65mb right now...)

I think maybe the tree roots are too big - even for a giant or monstrous tree. Perhaps making them narrow and more insidious. Also the overall colour of them is a bit too dark. A much thinner dark stroke/shadow might make them look more a part of the map.

Also they could have caused some of the tunnels/passageways to misalign or collapse so it might be worth editing those too!

Well... they don't quite scream evil invasive tree roots to me. But it's an interesting concept, and the overall map looks pretty cool. I'd suggest searching "uprooted tree" with Google Images. Or just look at this one: File:Uprooted tree 001.jpg - Wikimedia Commons Note how many smaller roots are growing off the main structures and twining and twisting insidiously throughout it all and just making a really gnarly mess. It's not something I'd want creeping around in dark tunnels seeking out my warm flesh to feast on.

Well I should clarify that unlike anything normal, this tree is actually going to come out from beneath the underground city. So the roots are not coming down and destroying it, but rather shooting up into it.

Still might do to add crazy twisting roots though, I was going for something more akin to what you'd see above ground basically.